2004, ISBN: 9780060731588

Gebundene Ausgabe

Simon & Schuster. Very Good. 6.13 x 1.6 x 9.25 inches. Paperback. 1995. 912 pages. <br>A brilliant, sweeping history of diplomacy that in cludes personal stories from the noted … Mehr…

Simon & Schuster. Very Good. 6.13 x 1.6 x 9.25 inches. Paperback. 1995. 912 pages. <br>A brilliant, sweeping history of diplomacy that in cludes personal stories from the noted former Secretary of State, including his stunning reopening of relations with China. The s eminal work on foreign policy and the art of diplomacy. Moving f rom a sweeping overview of history to blow-by-blow accounts of hi s negotiations with world leaders, Henry Kissinger describes how the art of diplomacy has created the world in which we live, and how America's approach to foreign affairs has always differed vas tly from that of other nations. Brilliant, controversial, and pr ofoundly incisive, Diplomacy stands as the culmination of a lifet ime of diplomatic service and scholarship. It is vital reading fo r anyone concerned with the forces that have shaped our world tod ay and will impact upon it tomorrow. Editorial Reviews From Pub lishers Weekly Former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Kissinger discusses the art of diplomacy and the American a pproach to foreign affairs. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Informa tion, Inc. Review Michiko Kakutani The New York Times An elegant ly written study of Western diplomacy....Shrewd, often vexing, an d consistently absorbing. Simon Schama The New Yorker Kissinger' s absorbing book tackles head-on some of the toughest questions o f our time....Its pages sparkle with insight. George P. Shultz T his is a great book....Brilliant in its analysis and masterly in its sweep. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. This rich and absorbing work is both a brilliant study of the international crises that have s haped the modern world and a provocative meditation on the Americ an style in foreign affairs. Walter Laqueur Chairman, Internatio nal Research Council, Center for Strategic and International Stud ies The most important work on diplomacy for thirty years. About the Author Henry Kissinger was the fifty-sixth Secretary of Stat e. Born in Germany, Dr. Kissinger came to the United States in 19 38 and was naturalized a US citizen in 1943. He served in the US Army and attended Harvard University, where he later became a mem ber of the faculty. Among the awards he has received are the Nobe l Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Medal o f Liberty. Dr. Kissinger is currently Chairman of Kissinger Assoc iates, Inc., an international consulting firm. Excerpt. ® Reprin ted by permission. All rights reserved. CHAPTER ONE The New Worl d Order Almost as if according to some natural law, in every cen tury there seems to emerge a country with the power, the will, an d the intellectual and moral impetus to shape the entire internat ional system in accordance with its own values. In the seventeent h century, France under Cardinal Richelieu introduced the modern approach to international relations, based on the nation-state an d motivated by national interest as its ultimate purpose. In the eighteenth century, Great Britain elaborated the concept of the b alance of power, which dominated European diplomacy for the next 200 years. In the nineteenth century, Metternich's Austria recons tructed the Concert of Europe and Bismarck's Germany dismantled i t, reshaping European diplomacy into a cold-blooded game of power politics. In the twentieth century, no country has influenced i nternational relations as decisively and at the same time as ambi valently as the United States. No society has more firmly insiste d on the inadmissibility of intervention in the domestic affairs of other states, or more passionately asserted that its own value s were universally applicable. No nation has been more pragmatic in the day-to-day conduct of its diplomacy, or more ideological i n the pursuit of its historic moral convictions. No country has b een more reluctant to engage itself abroad even while undertaking alliances and commitments of unprecedented reach and scope. The singularities that America has ascribed to itself throughout its history have produced two contradictory attitudes toward foreign policy. The first is that America serves its values best by perf ecting democracy at home, thereby acting as a beacon for the rest of mankind; the second, that America's values impose on it an ob ligation to crusade for them around the world. Torn between nosta lgia for a pristine past and yearning for a perfect future, Ameri can thought has oscillated between isolationism and commitment, t hough, since the end of the Second World War, the realities of in terdependence have predominated. Both schools of thought -- of A merica as beacon and of America as crusader -- envision as normal a global international order based on democracy, free commerce, and international law. Since no such system has ever existed, its evocation often appears to other societies as utopian, if not na ïve. Still, foreign skepticism never dimmed the idealism of Woodr ow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, or Ronald Reagan, or indeed of all other twentieth-century American presidents. If anything, it has spurred America's faith that history can be overcome and that if the world truly wants peace, it needs to apply America's moral p rescriptions. Both schools of thought were products of the Ameri can experience. Though other republics have existed, none had bee n consciously created to vindicate the idea of liberty. No other country's population had chosen to head for a new continent and t ame its wilderness in the name of freedom and prosperity for all. Thus the two approaches, the isolationist and the missionary, so contradictory on the surface, reflected a common underlying fait h: that the United States possessed the world's best system of go vernment, and that the rest of mankind could attain peace and pro sperity by abandoning traditional diplomacy and adopting America' s reverence for international law and democracy. America's journ ey through international politics has been a triumph of faith ove r experience. Since the time America entered the arena of world p olitics in 1917, it has been so preponderant in strength and so c onvinced of the rightness of its ideals that this century's major international agreements have been embodiments of American value s -- from the League of Nations and the Kellogg-Briand Pact to th e United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. The collapse of Soviet communism marked the intellectual vindication of Ameri can ideals and, ironically, brought America face to face with the kind of world it had been seeking to escape throughout its histo ry. In the emerging international order, nationalism has gained a new lease on life. Nations have pursued self-interest more frequ ently than high-minded principle, and have competed more than the y have cooperated. There is little evidence to suggest that this age-old mode of behavior has changed, or that it is likely to cha nge in the decades ahead. What is new about the emerging world o rder is that, for the first time, the United States can neither w ithdraw from the world nor dominate it. America cannot change the way it has perceived its role throughout its history, not should it want to. When America entered the international arena, it was young and robust and had the power to make the world conform to its vision of international relations. By the end of the Second W orld War in 1945, the United States was so powerful (at one point about 35 percent of the world's entire economic production was A merican) that it seemed as if it was destined to shape the world according to its preferences. John F. Kennedy declared confident ly in 1961 that America was strong enough to pay any price, bear any burden to ensure the success of liberty. Three decades later, the United States is in less of a position to insist on the imme diate realization of all its desires. Other countries have grown into Great Power status. The United States now faces the challeng e of reaching its goals in stages, each of which is an amalgam of American values and geopolitical necessities. One of the new nec essities is that a world comprising several states of comparable strength must base its order on some concept of equilibrium -- an idea with which the United States has never felt comfortable. W hen American thinking on foreign policy and European diplomatic t raditions encountered each other at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the differences in historical experience became dramatical ly evident. The European leaders sought to refurbish the existing system according to familiar methods; the American peacemakers b elieved that the Great War had resulted not from intractable geop olitical conflicts hut from flawed European practices. In his fam ous Fourteen Points, Woodrow Wilson told the Europeans that, henc eforth, the international system should be based not on the balan ce of power but on ethnic self-determination, that their security should depend not on military alliances but on collective securi ty, and that their diplomacy should no longer be conducted secret ly by experts but on the basis of open agreements, openly arrived at. Clearly, Wilson had come not so much to discuss the terms fo r ending a war or for restoring the existing international order, as he had to recast a whole system of international relations as it had been practiced for nearly three centuries. For as long a s Americans have been reflecting on foreign policy, they have asc ribed Europe's travails to the balance-of-power system. And since the time Europe first had to concern itself with American foreig n policy, its leaders have looked askance at America's self-appoi nted mission of global reform. Each side has behaved as if the ot her had freely chosen its mode of diplomatic behavior and could h ave, were it wiser or less bellicose, selected some other, more a greeable, method. In fact, both the American and the European ap proaches to foreign policy were the products of their own unique circumstances. Americans inhabited a nearly empty continent shiel ded from predatory powers by two vast oceans and with weak countr ies as neighbors. Since America confronted no power in need of be ing balanced, it could hardly have occupied itself with the chall enges of equilibrium even if its leaders had been seized by the b izarre notion of replicating European conditions amidst a people who had turned their backs on Europe. The anguishing dilemmas of security that tormented European nations did not touch America f or nearly 150 years. When they did, America twice participated in the world wars which had been started by the nations of Europe. In each instance, by the time America got involved, the balance o f power had already failed to operate, producing this paradox: th at the balance of power, which most Americans disdained, in fact assured American security as long as it functioned as it was desi gned; and that it was its breakdown that drew America into intern ational politics. The nations of Europe did not choose the balan ce of power as the means for regulating their relations out of in nate quarrelsomeness or an Old World love of intrigue. If the emp hasis on democracy and international law was the product of Ameri ca's unique sense of security, European diplomacy had been forged in the school of hard knocks. Europe was thrown into balance-of -power politics when its first choice, the medieval dream of univ ersal empire, collapsed and a host of stares of more or less equa l strength arose from the ashes of that ancient aspiration. When a group of states so constituted are obliged to deal with one ano ther, there are only two possible outcomes: either one state beco mes so strong that it dominates all the others and creates an emp ire, or no stare is ever quite powerful enough to achieve that go al. In the latter case, the pretensions of the most aggressive me mber of the international community are kept in check by a combin ation of the others; in other words, by the operation of a balanc e of power. The balance-of-power system did not purport to avoid crises or even wars. When working properly, it was meant to limi t both the ability of states to dominate others and the scope of conflicts. Its goal was not peace so much as stability and modera tion. By definition, a balance-of-power arrangement cannot satisf y every member of the international system completely; it works b est when it keeps dissatisfaction below the level at which the ag grieved party will seek to overthrow the international order. Th eorists of the balance of power often leave the impression that i t is the natural form of international relations. In fact, balanc e-of-power systems have existed only rarely in human history. The Western Hemisphere has never known one, nor has the territory of contemporary China since the end of the period of the warring st ates, over 2,000 years ago. For the greatest part of humanity and the longest periods of history, empire has been the typical mode of government. Empires have no interest in operating within an i nternational system; they aspire to be the international system. Empires have no need for a balance of power. That is how the Unit ed States has conducted its foreign policy in the Americas, and C hina through most of its history in Asia. In the West, the only examples of functioning balance-of-power systems were among the c ity-states of ancient Greece and Renaissance Italy, and the Europ ean state system which arose out of the Peace of Westphalia in 16 48. The distinguishing feature of these systems was to elevate a fact of life -- the existence of a number of states of substantia lly equal strength -- into a guiding principle of world order. I ntellectually, the concept of the balance of power reflected the convictions of all the major political thinkers of the Enlightenm ent. In their view, the universe, including the political sphere, operated according to rational principles which balanced each ot her. Seemingly random acts by reasonable men would, in their tota lity, tend toward the common good, though the proof of this propo sition was elusive in the century of almost constant conflict tha t followed the Thirty Years' War. Adam Smith, in The Wealth of N ations, maintained that an invisible hand would distill general e conomic well-being out of selfish individual economic actions. In The Federalist Papers, Madison argued that, in a large enough re public, the various political factions selfishly pursuing their o wn interests would, by a kind of automatic mechanism, forge a pro per domestic harmony. The concepts of the separation of powers an d of checks and balances, as conceived by Montesquieu and embodie d in the American Constitution, reflected an identical view. The purpose of the sepa, Simon & Schuster, 1995, 3, Regan Books/Harper Collins. Very Good. 6 x 1.77 x 9 inches. Hardcover. 2004. 590 pages. <br>To America, he was a hero. To his troops, he was a soldier. Now hear his story. Each new era in American history has given rise to a military leader who defines the nation's pro udest traditions?of leadership and honor, of vision and commitmen t and courage in the face of any challenge. From Washington and U .S. Grant to Dwight D. Eisenhower and Norman Schwarzkopf, these m en have captured the nation's imagination, and entered the small pantheon of Editorial Reviews Review As Commander i n Chief of the United States Central Command from July 2000 throu gh July 2003, Tommy Franks led the American and Coalition forces to victory in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Unsurprisingly, the port ions of American Soldier covering these wars are the most interes ting because they combine military maneuvers, political wrangling , and lots of action and commentary. This does not mean, however, that the rest of his autobiography is dull. General Franks's wri ting is clear and engaging and his insider's perspective is infor mative and interesting, particularly when he explains how the mil itary moved into the 21st century by emphasizing speed, agility, and better cooperation among the various branches--a significant shift from the first Persian Gulf war just a decade earlier. In addition to his years as a war general, his memoir also covers h is childhood, his early years in the Army, his tours of Vietnam, and how he contemplated retirement before being called up as comm ander of Central Command, the most diverse, strategically vital?a nd unstable?region of the planet. Ever the diplomat, General Fran ks offers insights, but little criticism of individuals. Other th an expressing admiration for his own staff and for President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in particular, he is tight -lipped about any conflict within the administration that may hav e occurred regarding policy issues. (The one exception is counter terrorism specialist Richard Clarke. I never received a single op erational recommendation, or a single page of actionable intellig ence, from Richard Clarke, he writes). He also writes that he was surprised by the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that no WMDs were used against American troops. Still, the in vasion of Iraq was justified in his eyes: While we may not have f ound actual WMD stockpiles, what the Coalition discovered was the equivalent of a disassembled pistol, lying on a table beside nea tly arranged trays of bullets. American Soldier is a compelling l ook at the war on terrorism from one who served on the frontlines as both a warrior and a diplomat. --Shawn Carkonen From the Ba ck Cover When war comes, you look for certain special qualities in the people you'll be working with. General Tom Franks embodies those qualities: strength, experience, a keen mind, energy, hono r, good humor, and a deep loyalty to his troops and to his countr y. Tom Franks is truly a soldier's soldier. -- Secretary of De fense Donald Rumsfeld The Commander in Chief of the United State s Central Command from July 2000 through July 2003, General Tommy Franks made history by leading American and Coalition forces to victory in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the decisive battles that laun ched the war on terrorism. In this riveting memoir, General Fra nks retraces his journey from a small-town boyhood in Oklahoma an d Midland, Texas, through a lifetime of military service -- inclu ding his heroic tour as an Artillery officer in Vietnam, where he was wounded three times. A reform-minded Cold War commander and a shrewd tactician during Operation Desert Storm, Franks took com mand of CENTCOM at the dawn of what he calls a crease in history -- becoming the senior American military officer in the most dang erous region on earth. Now, drawing on his own recollections an d military records declassified for this book, Franks offers the first true insider's account of the war on terrorism that has cha nged the world since September 11, 2001. He puts you in the Opera tions Center for the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom just we eks after 9/11, capturing its uncertain early days and the histor ic victory that followed. He traces his relationship with the dem anding Donald Rumsfeld, as early tensions over the pace of the ca mpaign gave way to a strong and friendly collaboration. When Pr esident Bush focused world attention on the threat of Iraq, Frank s seized the moment to implement a bold new vision of joint warfa re in planning Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rejecting Desert Storm-st yle massive troop deployment in favor of flexibility and speed, F ranks was questioned by the defense establishment -- including Se cretary of State Colin Powell. Yet his vision was proven on the g round: Within three weeks, Baghdad had fallen. American Soldier is filled with revelation. Franks describes the covert diplomacy that helped him secure international cooperation for the war, and reveals the role of foreign leaders -- and a critical double age nt code-named April Fool -- in the most successful military decep tion since D-Day in 1944. He speaks frankly of intelligence short comings that endangered our troops, and of the credible WMD threa ts -- including eleventh-hour warnings from Arab leaders -- that influenced every planning decision. He offers an unvarnished port rait of the disruptive and divisive Washington bureaucracy, and a candid assessment of the war's aftermath. Yet in the end, as Ame rican Soldier demonstrates, the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq r emain heroic victories -- wars of liberation won by troops whose valor was unequalled, Franks writes, by anything in the annals of war. Few individuals have the chance to contribute so much of themselves to the American story as General Tommy Franks. In Amer ican Soldier, he captures it all. About the Author General Tom my Franks retired from the Army on August 1, 2003. Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1967 as a distinguished graduate of the Art illery Officer Candidate School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he was assi gned to the 9th Infantry Division, Republic of Vietnam. He also s erved as an Assistant Division Commander during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. General Franks has been awarded three Defen se Distinguished Service Medals, two Distinguished Service Medals , and four Legion of Merit awards. His other decorations include three Purple Hearts, three Bronze Stars, an Air Medal, and an Arm y Commendation Medal -- all with V for valor. In 2004 he was name d a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. General Franks lives with his wife, Cathy, in Tampa, Florida. From The Washington Post The Romans let victorious generals keep slaves an d other spoils of war. The British showered them with noble title s and country estates. In free-market America, we've outsourced t he job of rewarding our war heroes to the private sector, where t hey get cushy corporate board seats, lucrative speaking engagemen ts and fat contracts for their memoirs. Gen. Tommy Franks, who a s head of U.S. Central Command presided over the wars in Afghanis tan and Iraq, has duly produced the expected autobiography. It is a good read, thanks to the work of veteran ghostwriter Malcolm M cConnell; the early sections on Franks's blue-collar upbringing a nd Vietnam service are particularly affecting. But it has not mad e as much of a media splash as some other accounts of the adminis tration, because it is not hostile to George W. Bush. To the con trary, American Soldier rebuts some criticisms directed against t he president. Bush has been accused, for instance, of taking his eye off Afghanistan by ordering the plan for a possible war with Iraq in the fall of 2001. Franks writes that, given the threat po sed by Saddam Hussein, this was a sensible request, and that our mission in Afghanistan never suffered as a result. Scores of pun dits have accused the administration of lying, or at least distor ting the evidence, about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. But Franks reveals that the leaders of Egypt and Jordan told him that Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons. Though no we apon of mass destruction was ever found, he writes, I do not regr et my role in disarming Iraq and removing its Baathist regime. A nother charge made against the administration is that political a ppointees failed to give the generals enough troops in either Afg hanistan or Iraq. In fact, Franks writes, it was his own choice t o employ limited forces in order to avoid getting bogged down. In stead of relying on sheer size, he thought surprise and speed wer e the keys to victory -- a judgment largely vindicated by events. In general (so to speak), Franks is complimentary about his bos ses. Vice President Dick Cheney is praised for asking questions t hat consistently cut to the core of the issue at hand. Bush comes across as a confident and decisive leader who refused to let pol itics intrude into his decision-making. When White House chief of staff Andrew Card brought up the issue of the 2002 elections as a factor in planning for war with Iraq, Bush reportedly snapped, That is no consideration at all . . . Timing will have nothing to do with congressional elections or polls. Franks did become exas perated at times with the genetically impatient Donald Rumsfeld, but ultimately decided that he and the defense secretary made an effective team. Not all is sweetness and light in American Soldi er. Franks comes off as a bit tetchy. He complains in particular when the Joint Chiefs of Staff get involved in any operational is sues that lie outside their jurisdiction. He accuses the chiefs o f being focused only on their parochial service concerns, of leak ing secrets to the press, wasting his time and offering gratuitou s advice. In one extraordinary episode, he cusses out the Navy an d Marine chiefs, Adm. Vern Clark and Gen. James Jones, in languag e that can't be reprinted here. A particular target of his ire i s Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, whom he denounces as t he dumbest [expletive] guy on the planet and a theorist whose ide as were often impractical, without offering any examples. He adds , however, that Rumsfeld never allowed Feith to interfere in my b usiness. This -- along with the fact that Deputy Secretary of Def ense Paul Wolfowitz barely rates a mention in this book -- should help dispel the popular myth that a cabal of neoconservatives le d by Wolfowitz and Feith has been running the war on terrorism. A ctually Franks was the one in operational control until July 2003 , and he offers not a single instance where Rumsfeld, Feith or an y other politico forced him to do anything he didn't want to do. Perhaps they should have. American Soldier reveals numerous blin d spots: Franks never discusses why he didn't send more U.S. sold iers to cut off al Qaeda fighters escaping Tora Bora in December 2003 or Ba'athists fleeing to the Sunni Triangle in April 2004. N or does he seriously ponder what more he could have done to foste r a secure postwar environment in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of th e impractical suggestions from Feith that he disregarded, we now know, was to rally Iraqis to assist in their country's liberation . More than a year later, the United States continues to pay a he avy price for not having mobilized sufficient Iraqi security forc es early on. Reviewed by Max Boot Copyright 2004, The Washingt on Post Co. All Rights Reserved. </div From the Back Cover When war comes, you look for certain special qualities in the people you'll be working with. General Tom Franks embodies those qualiti es: strength, experience, a keen mind, energy, honor, good humor, and a deep loyalty to his troops and to his country. Tom Frank s is truly a soldier's soldier. -- Secretary of Defense Donald R umsfeld The Commander in Chief of the United States Central Comm and from July 2000 through July 2003, General Tommy Franks made h istory by leading American and Coalition forces to victory in Afg hanistan and Iraq -- the decisive battles that launched the war o n terrorism. In this riveting memoir, General Franks retraces h is journey from a small-town boyhood in Oklahoma and Midland, Tex as, through a lifetime of military service -- including his heroi c tour as an Artillery officer in Vietnam, where he was wounded t hree times. A reform-minded Cold War commander and a shrewd tacti cian during Operation Desert Storm, Franks took command of CENTCO M at the dawn of what he calls a crease in history -- becoming th e senior American military officer in the most dangerous region o n earth. Now, drawing on his own recollections and military rec ords declassified for this book, Franks offers the first true ins ider's account of the war on terrorism that has changed the world since September 11, 2001. He puts you in the Operations Center f or the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom just weeks after 9/11 , capturing its uncertain early days and the historic victory tha t followed. He traces his relationship with the demanding Donald Rumsfeld, as early tensions over the pace of the campaign gave wa y to a strong and friendly collaboration. When President Bush f ocused world attention on the threat of Iraq, Franks seized the m oment to implement a bold new vision of joint warfare in planning Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rejecting Desert Storm-style massive tr oop deployment in favor of flexibility and speed, Franks was ques tioned by the defense establishment -- including Secretary of Sta te Colin Powell. Yet his vision was proven on the ground: Within three weeks, Baghdad had fallen. American Soldier is filled with revelation. Franks describes the covert diplomacy that helped hi m secure international cooperation for the war, and reveals the r ole of foreign leaders -- and a critical double agent code-named April Fool -- in the most successful military deception since D-D ay in 1944. He speaks frankly of intelligence shortcomings that e ndangered our troops, and of the credible WMD threats -- includin g eleventh-hour warnings from Arab leaders -- that influenced eve ry planning decision. He offers an unvarnished portrait of the di sruptive and divisive Washington bureaucracy, and a candid assess ment of the war's aftermath. Yet in the end, as American Soldier demonstrates, the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq remain heroic v ictories -- wars of liberation won by troops whose valor was uneq ualled, Franks writes, by anything in the annals of war. Few in dividuals have the chance to contribute so much of themselves to the American story as General Tommy Franks. In American Soldier, he captures it all. About the Autho, Regan Books/Harper Collins, 2004, 3<

2004, ISBN: 9780060731588

Walter , Freiburg, 1961. Reprint. Hardcover. Very Good Condition/Very Good. Please note that the text is in German. The book comes with a glossary.Previous owner's name… Mehr…

Walter , Freiburg, 1961. Reprint. Hardcover. Very Good Condition/Very Good. Please note that the text is in German. The book comes with a glossary.Previous owner's name at the top of the 1st page. An analysis of Jewish humour and wit, and comes with a forward by Carlo Schmid Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. 532 pages. Text is in German. No damage to describe. Clean tidy copy, with matching dustwrapper.. Please refer to accompanying picture (s). Quantity Available: 1. Category: Sociology & Culture; Judaica; German Language; Humour. Inventory No: 0264906. ., Walter, 1961, 3, Regan Books/Harper Collins. Very Good. 6 x 1.77 x 9 inches. Hardcover. 2004. 590 pages. <br>To America, he was a hero. To his troops, he was a soldier. Now hear his story. Each new era in American history has given rise to a military leader who defines the nation's pro udest traditions?of leadership and honor, of vision and commitmen t and courage in the face of any challenge. From Washington and U .S. Grant to Dwight D. Eisenhower and Norman Schwarzkopf, these m en have captured the nation's imagination, and entered the small pantheon of Editorial Reviews Review As Commander i n Chief of the United States Central Command from July 2000 throu gh July 2003, Tommy Franks led the American and Coalition forces to victory in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Unsurprisingly, the port ions of American Soldier covering these wars are the most interes ting because they combine military maneuvers, political wrangling , and lots of action and commentary. This does not mean, however, that the rest of his autobiography is dull. General Franks's wri ting is clear and engaging and his insider's perspective is infor mative and interesting, particularly when he explains how the mil itary moved into the 21st century by emphasizing speed, agility, and better cooperation among the various branches--a significant shift from the first Persian Gulf war just a decade earlier. In addition to his years as a war general, his memoir also covers h is childhood, his early years in the Army, his tours of Vietnam, and how he contemplated retirement before being called up as comm ander of Central Command, the most diverse, strategically vital?a nd unstable?region of the planet. Ever the diplomat, General Fran ks offers insights, but little criticism of individuals. Other th an expressing admiration for his own staff and for President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in particular, he is tight -lipped about any conflict within the administration that may hav e occurred regarding policy issues. (The one exception is counter terrorism specialist Richard Clarke. I never received a single op erational recommendation, or a single page of actionable intellig ence, from Richard Clarke, he writes). He also writes that he was surprised by the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that no WMDs were used against American troops. Still, the in vasion of Iraq was justified in his eyes: While we may not have f ound actual WMD stockpiles, what the Coalition discovered was the equivalent of a disassembled pistol, lying on a table beside nea tly arranged trays of bullets. American Soldier is a compelling l ook at the war on terrorism from one who served on the frontlines as both a warrior and a diplomat. --Shawn Carkonen From the Ba ck Cover When war comes, you look for certain special qualities in the people you'll be working with. General Tom Franks embodies those qualities: strength, experience, a keen mind, energy, hono r, good humor, and a deep loyalty to his troops and to his countr y. Tom Franks is truly a soldier's soldier. -- Secretary of De fense Donald Rumsfeld The Commander in Chief of the United State s Central Command from July 2000 through July 2003, General Tommy Franks made history by leading American and Coalition forces to victory in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the decisive battles that laun ched the war on terrorism. In this riveting memoir, General Fra nks retraces his journey from a small-town boyhood in Oklahoma an d Midland, Texas, through a lifetime of military service -- inclu ding his heroic tour as an Artillery officer in Vietnam, where he was wounded three times. A reform-minded Cold War commander and a shrewd tactician during Operation Desert Storm, Franks took com mand of CENTCOM at the dawn of what he calls a crease in history -- becoming the senior American military officer in the most dang erous region on earth. Now, drawing on his own recollections an d military records declassified for this book, Franks offers the first true insider's account of the war on terrorism that has cha nged the world since September 11, 2001. He puts you in the Opera tions Center for the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom just we eks after 9/11, capturing its uncertain early days and the histor ic victory that followed. He traces his relationship with the dem anding Donald Rumsfeld, as early tensions over the pace of the ca mpaign gave way to a strong and friendly collaboration. When Pr esident Bush focused world attention on the threat of Iraq, Frank s seized the moment to implement a bold new vision of joint warfa re in planning Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rejecting Desert Storm-st yle massive troop deployment in favor of flexibility and speed, F ranks was questioned by the defense establishment -- including Se cretary of State Colin Powell. Yet his vision was proven on the g round: Within three weeks, Baghdad had fallen. American Soldier is filled with revelation. Franks describes the covert diplomacy that helped him secure international cooperation for the war, and reveals the role of foreign leaders -- and a critical double age nt code-named April Fool -- in the most successful military decep tion since D-Day in 1944. He speaks frankly of intelligence short comings that endangered our troops, and of the credible WMD threa ts -- including eleventh-hour warnings from Arab leaders -- that influenced every planning decision. He offers an unvarnished port rait of the disruptive and divisive Washington bureaucracy, and a candid assessment of the war's aftermath. Yet in the end, as Ame rican Soldier demonstrates, the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq r emain heroic victories -- wars of liberation won by troops whose valor was unequalled, Franks writes, by anything in the annals of war. Few individuals have the chance to contribute so much of themselves to the American story as General Tommy Franks. In Amer ican Soldier, he captures it all. About the Author General Tom my Franks retired from the Army on August 1, 2003. Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1967 as a distinguished graduate of the Art illery Officer Candidate School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he was assi gned to the 9th Infantry Division, Republic of Vietnam. He also s erved as an Assistant Division Commander during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. General Franks has been awarded three Defen se Distinguished Service Medals, two Distinguished Service Medals , and four Legion of Merit awards. His other decorations include three Purple Hearts, three Bronze Stars, an Air Medal, and an Arm y Commendation Medal -- all with V for valor. In 2004 he was name d a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. General Franks lives with his wife, Cathy, in Tampa, Florida. From The Washington Post The Romans let victorious generals keep slaves an d other spoils of war. The British showered them with noble title s and country estates. In free-market America, we've outsourced t he job of rewarding our war heroes to the private sector, where t hey get cushy corporate board seats, lucrative speaking engagemen ts and fat contracts for their memoirs. Gen. Tommy Franks, who a s head of U.S. Central Command presided over the wars in Afghanis tan and Iraq, has duly produced the expected autobiography. It is a good read, thanks to the work of veteran ghostwriter Malcolm M cConnell; the early sections on Franks's blue-collar upbringing a nd Vietnam service are particularly affecting. But it has not mad e as much of a media splash as some other accounts of the adminis tration, because it is not hostile to George W. Bush. To the con trary, American Soldier rebuts some criticisms directed against t he president. Bush has been accused, for instance, of taking his eye off Afghanistan by ordering the plan for a possible war with Iraq in the fall of 2001. Franks writes that, given the threat po sed by Saddam Hussein, this was a sensible request, and that our mission in Afghanistan never suffered as a result. Scores of pun dits have accused the administration of lying, or at least distor ting the evidence, about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. But Franks reveals that the leaders of Egypt and Jordan told him that Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons. Though no we apon of mass destruction was ever found, he writes, I do not regr et my role in disarming Iraq and removing its Baathist regime. A nother charge made against the administration is that political a ppointees failed to give the generals enough troops in either Afg hanistan or Iraq. In fact, Franks writes, it was his own choice t o employ limited forces in order to avoid getting bogged down. In stead of relying on sheer size, he thought surprise and speed wer e the keys to victory -- a judgment largely vindicated by events. In general (so to speak), Franks is complimentary about his bos ses. Vice President Dick Cheney is praised for asking questions t hat consistently cut to the core of the issue at hand. Bush comes across as a confident and decisive leader who refused to let pol itics intrude into his decision-making. When White House chief of staff Andrew Card brought up the issue of the 2002 elections as a factor in planning for war with Iraq, Bush reportedly snapped, That is no consideration at all . . . Timing will have nothing to do with congressional elections or polls. Franks did become exas perated at times with the genetically impatient Donald Rumsfeld, but ultimately decided that he and the defense secretary made an effective team. Not all is sweetness and light in American Soldi er. Franks comes off as a bit tetchy. He complains in particular when the Joint Chiefs of Staff get involved in any operational is sues that lie outside their jurisdiction. He accuses the chiefs o f being focused only on their parochial service concerns, of leak ing secrets to the press, wasting his time and offering gratuitou s advice. In one extraordinary episode, he cusses out the Navy an d Marine chiefs, Adm. Vern Clark and Gen. James Jones, in languag e that can't be reprinted here. A particular target of his ire i s Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, whom he denounces as t he dumbest [expletive] guy on the planet and a theorist whose ide as were often impractical, without offering any examples. He adds , however, that Rumsfeld never allowed Feith to interfere in my b usiness. This -- along with the fact that Deputy Secretary of Def ense Paul Wolfowitz barely rates a mention in this book -- should help dispel the popular myth that a cabal of neoconservatives le d by Wolfowitz and Feith has been running the war on terrorism. A ctually Franks was the one in operational control until July 2003 , and he offers not a single instance where Rumsfeld, Feith or an y other politico forced him to do anything he didn't want to do. Perhaps they should have. American Soldier reveals numerous blin d spots: Franks never discusses why he didn't send more U.S. sold iers to cut off al Qaeda fighters escaping Tora Bora in December 2003 or Ba'athists fleeing to the Sunni Triangle in April 2004. N or does he seriously ponder what more he could have done to foste r a secure postwar environment in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of th e impractical suggestions from Feith that he disregarded, we now know, was to rally Iraqis to assist in their country's liberation . More than a year later, the United States continues to pay a he avy price for not having mobilized sufficient Iraqi security forc es early on. Reviewed by Max Boot Copyright 2004, The Washingt on Post Co. All Rights Reserved. </div From the Back Cover When war comes, you look for certain special qualities in the people you'll be working with. General Tom Franks embodies those qualiti es: strength, experience, a keen mind, energy, honor, good humor, and a deep loyalty to his troops and to his country. Tom Frank s is truly a soldier's soldier. -- Secretary of Defense Donald R umsfeld The Commander in Chief of the United States Central Comm and from July 2000 through July 2003, General Tommy Franks made h istory by leading American and Coalition forces to victory in Afg hanistan and Iraq -- the decisive battles that launched the war o n terrorism. In this riveting memoir, General Franks retraces h is journey from a small-town boyhood in Oklahoma and Midland, Tex as, through a lifetime of military service -- including his heroi c tour as an Artillery officer in Vietnam, where he was wounded t hree times. A reform-minded Cold War commander and a shrewd tacti cian during Operation Desert Storm, Franks took command of CENTCO M at the dawn of what he calls a crease in history -- becoming th e senior American military officer in the most dangerous region o n earth. Now, drawing on his own recollections and military rec ords declassified for this book, Franks offers the first true ins ider's account of the war on terrorism that has changed the world since September 11, 2001. He puts you in the Operations Center f or the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom just weeks after 9/11 , capturing its uncertain early days and the historic victory tha t followed. He traces his relationship with the demanding Donald Rumsfeld, as early tensions over the pace of the campaign gave wa y to a strong and friendly collaboration. When President Bush f ocused world attention on the threat of Iraq, Franks seized the m oment to implement a bold new vision of joint warfare in planning Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rejecting Desert Storm-style massive tr oop deployment in favor of flexibility and speed, Franks was ques tioned by the defense establishment -- including Secretary of Sta te Colin Powell. Yet his vision was proven on the ground: Within three weeks, Baghdad had fallen. American Soldier is filled with revelation. Franks describes the covert diplomacy that helped hi m secure international cooperation for the war, and reveals the r ole of foreign leaders -- and a critical double agent code-named April Fool -- in the most successful military deception since D-D ay in 1944. He speaks frankly of intelligence shortcomings that e ndangered our troops, and of the credible WMD threats -- includin g eleventh-hour warnings from Arab leaders -- that influenced eve ry planning decision. He offers an unvarnished portrait of the di sruptive and divisive Washington bureaucracy, and a candid assess ment of the war's aftermath. Yet in the end, as American Soldier demonstrates, the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq remain heroic v ictories -- wars of liberation won by troops whose valor was uneq ualled, Franks writes, by anything in the annals of war. Few in dividuals have the chance to contribute so much of themselves to the American story as General Tommy Franks. In American Soldier, he captures it all. About the Autho, Regan Books/Harper Collins, 2004, 3<

2004, ISBN: 9780060731588

Gebundene Ausgabe

Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1996. Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Used, with minimal reading wear. Interior in clean and bright with a tight, unc… Mehr…

Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1996. Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Used, with minimal reading wear. Interior in clean and bright with a tight, uncreased, binding. Includes bibliographical references and index., Praeger, 1996, 3, New York: Regan Books, 2004. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command from July 2000 through July 2003, Tommy Franks led the American and Coalition forces to victory in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Unsurprisingly, the portions of American Soldier covering these wars are the most interesting because they combine military maneuvers, political wrangling, and lots of action and commentary. This does not mean, however, that the rest of his autobiography is dull. General Franks's writing is clear and engaging and his insider's perspective is informative and interesting, particularly when he explains how the military moved into the 21st century by emphasizing speed, agility, and better cooperation among the various branches--a significant shift from the first Persian Gulf war just a decade earlier., Regan Books, 2004, 3<

2004, ISBN: 9780060731588

Regan Books/Harper Collins, August 2004. Hardcover. Used - Very Good., Regan Books/Harper Collins, 3